El Ninja
T here is nothing quiet about Chef Mitsuhisa Nishio who — covered in a canvas of tattoos , documented daily on social media , and represented by his ninja mascot wielding a plantain — has recently cemented his presence in Providence . Japanese by birth and raised in the Dominican Republic , Nishio opened El Ninja as a testament to crosscultural cuisine . The restaurant is a sprawling space on Broad Street that makes its home among Latin and South American options and the Bomes Theatre — all tied together in a spirit of revelry . Music is loud at El Ninja with a floor expansive enough to conjure a club with a bass-heavy track of Lil Jon , DJ Snake and the occasional Kanye overhead . Nothing is offered in a whisper here — and that includes the food .
If Elgheryany is expanding the inventory of Japanese ingredients , Nishio has designed a full throttle collision of Far Eastern and Latin American cuisine . The congruence in this menu is between the cool , minimal nature of sushi and the rich , dense qualities of Dominican food . The two seem entirely incompatible but Nishio proves it ’ s a strangely symbiotic marriage . No doubt sushi has an element of nuanced drama about it : Rice and fish take on new dimensions when they arrive on massive boats , lush with ruby tuna and coral-colored salmon . El Ninja , however , presents a different sort of theater : Japanese cuisine becomes the foundation on which Puerto Rican , Dominican and Colombian food perform . Tekka maki , blanketed in a tropical combination of jalapeno , avocado and mango , is one step beyond ($ 15 ); shrimp tempura maki sitting under a tower of plantains , avocado and ropa vieja ($ 16 ) is a different dimension altogether . No doubt there ’ s a shock factor to the combination but if the stewed and complex flavors of Latin America innately pair with anything , it ’ s rice . Kismet that Nishio ’ s heritage would fall right along these lines ? Perhaps . But it ’ s a social transliteration that ’ s readily accessible to all , particularly those in the mood for a party .
Tables tend to fill up after 8 p . m . in this industrial space , accented with red and black . It ’ s no surprise that bars sit at the center of the restaurant — sushi on one side , liquor on the other . Cocktails are as fruit-forward as the menu , many spiked with passion fruit and mango and all poured strong enough to call an Uber . But , if the aesthetic is Asian , the backbone of El Ninja really does lie with the warm sun and vivid traditions of Latin food . Plantains are everywhere on the menu — both savory and sweet — as well as stewed meats , avocado , fried pork belly and Dominican sausage constructed into spires of edible history . Perhaps the wonder is only that it took so long to figure out that these disparate cuisines overlap in a number of ways . For Nishio , it ’ s not a lesson learned ; it ’ s a lesson lived . �
EL NINJA
1007 Broad St ., Providence , 467-2581 , elninja . net . Open for dinner Wed .– Sat .; lunch and dinner on Sun . Closed Monday and Tuesday . Lot parking .
MUST GET El final ( sliced steak , fried
sweet plantains , avocado , chimichurri ), pastelitos , “ fusion ” maki , empanadas , tacos and tequila in any form .
RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l APRIL 2022 105